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American reckoning : the Vietnam War and our national identity

How did the Vietnam War change the way we think of ourselves as a people and a nation? Christian G. Appy examines the war's realities and myths and its lasting impact on our national self-perception. Drawing on a vast variety of sources that range from movies, songs, and novels to official documents, media coverage, and contemporary commentary, Appy offers an original interpretation of the war and its far-reaching consequences for both our popular culture and our foreign policy.Read more...

Part I. Why are we in Vietnam? --
Saving Vietnam --
Aggression --
Paper tigers --
Vietnam, inc --
Part II. America at war --
Our boys --
The American way of war --
The war at home --
Part III. What have we become? --
Victim nation --
"The pride is back" --
No more Vietnams --
Who we are.

Abstract:

How did the Vietnam War change the way we think of ourselves as a people and a nation? Christian G. Appy examines the war's realities and myths and its lasting impact on our national self-perception. Drawing on a vast variety of sources that range from movies, songs, and novels to official documents, media coverage, and contemporary commentary, Appy offers an original interpretation of the war and its far-reaching consequences for both our popular culture and our foreign policy.